Motion-picture camera lens and filter turret locking mechanism



Aug. 31, 1954 J. BOLSEY 2,687,669

MOTION-PICTURE CAMERA LENS AND FILTER TURRET LOCKING MECHANISM Filed June 27, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l Patented Aug. 31, 1954 2,687,669

unirso STATS ATENT osrics IVIOTION-PICTURE CAMERA LENS AND FIL- TER TURRET LOCKING MECHANISM Jacques Eolsey, New York, N. Y. Application June 27, 1951, Serial No. 233,806 9 Claims. (01. 88-16) My present application is a continuation-in- Fig. is an elevational view of a detail of the part of my co-pending U. S. application Serial No. device shown in Fig. 1. 168,514 which is a division of my co-pending U. S. Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown an embodiapplication Serial No, 65,473, filed December 15, ment of my present invention comprising a cam- 1948, for cinematographic Cameras, which ap- 5 era housing 200 having a circular lens turret supplication has matured into Patent No. 2,515,330, porting-surface 20! formed in the same. The lens 1946, and entitled Cinematographic Cameras, 10 1s fastened to the camera housing 208 by any suit- No. 2,462,802, issued on February 22 19 262 has a central raised portion 2% extending y present invention relates to cinematothrough an opening formed in cover plate 293, graphic cameras or still cameras and more particand turret 202 has a plurality of threaded openularly to cameras provided with movable lens ings formed therein for the purpose of supporting carrying turrets. a plurality of lenses, one of which is shown in It is an object of my present invention to prodotted lines at 265 in Fig. 3. The turret 202 is vide blocking means which prevent operation of rotated by the operator simnly by grasping one the camera shutter if none of the lenses is in of the lenses extending from the turret 202 and proper picture taking position. 20 turning the latter on its seat 201. In Fig. 2, the Another object of my present invention is to turret 262 is shown as having three openings 2%, provide a blocking means which prevents operfor supporting three lenses, and the periphery of ation of the camera shutter if none of the filters the turret is formed with a number of recesses 201 of the camera are located in proper picture taking which correspond to the number of openings 206. operation. The camera housing 200 includes a wall portion of the camera. alignment with the optical axis extending through A still further object of my present invention 3 aperture 289.

is to prevent operation of the camera except when A shaft 2H} is fixedly mounted at one end a filter disc and lens turret are located in proper thereof to the wall 268, and this shaft 210 supposition ports at the other end theleof bearing 245 which Another object of my present invention is to is fixedly connected to the shaft 2 Ml by any suitprovide a structure of the above-described type able means such as a set screw for example. Ro-

which is exceedingly simple and reliable in opertatably mounted on shaft 2! ii is a gear 2M which ation. is fixedly connected to the shutter 5H3 mounted The novel features which I consider as characabout shaft 250 so that the shutter 2E3 turns teristic for my invention are set forth in particuabout shaft 210 with the rotation of gear 2M.

lar in the appended claims. The invention itself, Gear 21 3 meshes with gear 2! I which is connected however, both 'as to its construction and its to a drive means fragmentarily shown at 212, so

derstocd flom the following description or spemounted fol flee rotation upon bearln 2H5 by cific embodiments when read in connection with means of the screw member 217 which has a the accompanying drawings, in which' smooth portion 2i 1 adjacent the nead thereof present invention with the lens turret removed mounted on support member 2H5 for rotation and with a cover late cut away for clarity therewith 1S filter disc H3 and gear are. As is Fig. 2 is an elevational front view of the lens shown in Fig. 1, filter disc 223 has a plurality of turret; filters mounted thereon, and in the position shown Fig. 3 is a sectional side view of the front porin Fig. 1 the filter 219 is located in alignment tion of the camera shown in Fig. 1; with the optical axis and over the exposure aper- 4 is a sectional elevational view taken along ture 2&9. the line 4 4 of Fig. l; and The camera housing 209 has a projecting portion 223 extending from the turret supporting portion 251 thereof, and this projecting portion 225 rotatably supports the gear 22i thereon by any suitable means, such as for example the screw member 222. Gear 22! meshes with gear 223, shown most clearly in Fig. 4, and this latter gear is fixedly connected by means of screw 224, for example, which extends through a wall of housing 205, to an endoi the shaft 225 located on the other side of the housing wall from the gear 222. Fixedly connected to the shaft 225, by means of a set screw for example, is the knob 225. It is apparent that rotation of knob 225 causes rotation of shaft 225 which in turn rotates'gear 223 so as to thereby cause rotation of gears 221 and 2 l8 which disc 2 i 3'.

in its periphery a plurality of spaced apertures 22'! which correspond in number to the number of filters on filter disc 2E3 and which have located thereover difterent color indications 228 which cooperate with an index 229, shown in dotted lines in l and actually located on cover plate 253, so that the operator will know which of the filters is in operative position.

Mounted in a groove 230 in the camera housing 20% is elongated stop member 231 which has an end portion 232 shaped so as to fit into the recesses 22?. Stop member 231 has an elongated slot 253 formed therein, and in this slot there is located a spring 234 which bears at one end thereof of slot 233, shown in Fig. l, and which bears with its other end against a flat portion of pin 234 fixedly mounted in camera housing 250, as shown in Fig. 4. The outer portion of pm 234 is located in the lower part of slot 233, as viewed in Fig. l, and by this construction spring member 234 urges end portion 232 of stop member 23! toward the periphery that when oneof the recesses 221 The lever member 235 is pivotally mounted in housing 20E! by means of the screw member 235 which has a smooth portion 231 engaging an opening in the lever member 235. This lever member rotatably supports roller 23B thereon by means of the shaft 239 fixedly connected at one end thereof to the lever 235. The lever 235 is supported in a recess 245 in the'camera housing 25% so that the roller 23% is located at the level of the periphery of turret 252. Mounted on the housing 200 is the spring 24l bearing with one end thereof against a recess 2% and bearing with the other end thereof against the lever 235. This other end of spring 24! is maintained in alignment with lever 235 by any suitable means such as the projecting member 242 connected to the lever and extending into the spring 24!. Spring 24! urges lever 235 about its pivot 236 toward the periphery of turret 202 so that when one of the recesses 201 is located opposite roller 238, the latter will be moved into one of the recesses 201 by the spring 241.

Camera housing 255 is formed with a pair of openings 24B and 244 in which the rods 245 and 246, shown in Fig. 15, are respectively located for sliding movement. The rods 245 and 24B are pivotally connected at their inner ends to the member 24'! which is pivotally connected at 248 to a part of the camera housing. Rod 245 is astop button for stopping the driving mechanism 2 l 2 of the camera and rod 246 is a starting button for starting the driving mechanism of the camera.

in the housing When it is desired to stop the driving mechanism, rod 245 is pushed inwardly so as to thereby move rod 246 outwardly, by means of lever 2M. Rod 245 is formed on opposite sides thereof with cutouts 245 and 255, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, and these cut-outs are so located that when the rod 245 is in its inward pOSi'GlOl'l and the driving mechanism M2 is stationary, the cut-out portion 242 is located in alignment with the lower end of stop member 25! and 'cutout portion 25s is located in alignment with the upper end of lever 225. It will be noted that springs 234 and 222 urge stop member 23! and lever respectively, away from rod 245. It will be seen from Fig. 4 that cover plate 223 is located over the springs 234 and 242 and over the stop member 255i and lever 235 as well as roller 238, so that only the stop and start rods 245 and extend outwardly through openings in the cover plate 252.

When the drive mechanism. M2 is stationary and rod 245 is in the position shown in Fig. 4, it is possible to rotate the knob 225 and turret 222 so as to locate a different filter and lens on the optical axis. The rotations of knob 225 and turret 252 cause the peripheries of these elements to respectively move the stop member 23! and lever 235. ihe periphery of turret 202 pivots lever 255 *so that the upper portion thereof moves into cut out portion 255 of rod 245, and the periphery of iznob 225 moves stop member 25! downwardly, as viewed in Fig. 1, so that its lower end moves into the cut-out 245 of rod 245. As long as the roller 2% and portion 232 of stop. member 223i are not located in any recess, the upper part of lever 235 and the lower part of stop member 25% will be respectively located in the cut-outs 255 and 245 so that it will not be possible to move the rod 245 inwardly to start the drive means 2.!2. In this way an effective means is provided for preventing operation of the-camera at those times when a lens and filter are not located on the optical axis.

The recesses 22'? in the periphery of turret 202 are located so as to respectively engage roller 235 when the lenses respectively corresponding to the recesses 25'? are respectively located on the optical axis. Thus, when roller 23% is located in one or the recesses 22? and when the upper portion 232 of stop member 23! is located in one of the recesses 22?, the upper part of lever 235 is moved out of cut-out 255 by spring 242, and the lower part of stop member 23E is moved out of cut-out 249 by spring 234, and in this position of the parts rod 245 may be moved inwardly to start the drive mechanism 2l2, and by means of the lever 24'! the rod 24-5 is moved out- Wardly to the right of the position shown in Fig. 4. It will be noted that in this latter position of the parts the outer surface of rod 245 engages the upper extremity of lever 235 and the lower extremity of stop member 23! so that it is not possible for stop member 23% to move downwardly or for lever 235 to turn in counterclockwise direction about pivot 236, as viewed in Fig. 1. It is apparent, therefore, that when the drive means M2 is operated the rod 245 serves to lock the lever 235 and stop member 231 in position with the roller 238 located in one of the recesses 25 and with the upper portion 232 of stop member 231 in one of the recesses 22?, and in this way the turret 202 and the filter disc 213 are both locked in proper picture taking position during the operation of the drive 212.

It-will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may

also find a useful application in other types of cinematographic cameras difiering from the types described above.

While I have illustrated and described the invention as in cinematographic the spirit of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

on said filter disc may be consecutively located over operating means mounted on said camera ingand being connected to said filter disc comprising a rotatably mounted knob located on said camera housing and to said OZJEIEltlIl means f r stopping the same at O of positions corresponding to the pobe moved into and out of said recesses by movement of said knob; spring means operatively connected to said gated member for urging said portion thereof against the of said recesses.

4. In a cinematographic camera, in combinatlon, a camera housing having a Wall thereof formed With driving dlSC rotatably mounted in said ture, said stop means comprising an elongated movably mounted member having a portion thereof adapted to be moved into andout-of said recesses by movement of said knob; spring means operatively connected to said elongated member for urging said portion thereof against the periphery of said knob; and locking means operatively connected to said stop means for locking the same in stopping position, said locking means comprising an elongated movably mounted drive means control rod having a cut-out portion formed therein and being movable between one position where it permits the operation of said drive means and where the outer surface of said rod engages said elongated member to hold said portion thereof in one of said recesses and another position where it prevents the operation of said drive means and where said cut-out portion of said rod is in alignment with said elongated member so as to permit movement of said portion thereof out of said recesses, said elongated member having another portion located in said cut-out portion of said elongated rod when the latter is located in said other .position and when said one portion of said elongated member is located out of said recesses, whereby movement of said rod into said one position is permitted only when said one portion of said elongated member is located in one of said recesses to thereby prevent operation of said drive means when said filter disc is not located with one of the filters thereof over said exposure aperture.

5. In a cinematographic camera having a filter disc, lens turret, and shutter drive means, in combination, an elongated rod movable between a starting position where the shutter drive means of the camera is operated and a stop position where the shutter drive means of the camera is stopped, said rod having a pair of spaced cut-outs formed in the same; filter disc control means mounted for movement between one position when the filter disc is properly located and another position when the filter disc is improperly located, said filter disc control means having a portion thereof located in one of said cut-outs when said filter disc control means is in said other position and said rod is in said stop position; and lens turret control means mounted for movement between one position when the turret is properly located and another position when the turret is improperly located, said turret control means having a portion thereof located in the other of said cut-outs when said turret control means in said other position and said rod is in said stop position, whereby movement of said rod into starting position is permitted only when the filter disc and lens turret of the camera are properly located.

6. In a cinematographic camera having a filter disc, lens turret, and shutter drive means, in combination, an elongated rod movable between a starting position where the shutter drive means of the camera is operated and a stop position where the shutter drive means of the camera is stopped, said rod having a pair of spaced cutouts formed in the same; filter disc control means mounted for movement between one position when the filter disc is properly located and another position when the filter disc is improperly located, said filter disc control means having a portion thereof located in one of said cut-outs when said filter disc control means is in said other position and said rod is in said stop position; lens turret control means mounted for movement betweenone position when the turret is properly located'and another position when the turret is improperly located, said turret control means having a portion thereof located in the other of said cut-outs when said turret control means in said other position and said rod is in said stop position, whereby movement of said rod into starting position is permitted only when the filter disc and lens turret of the camera are properly located; and spring means operatively connected to said filter disc control means and lens turret control means for simultaneously urging said portions thereof out of said cut-outs.

7. In a cinematographic camera having a filter disc,-lens turret, and shutter drive means, in combination, an elongated rod movable between -a starting position where the shutter drive means of the camera is operated and a stop position where the shutter drive means of the camera is stopped, said rod having a pair of spaced cutouts formed in the same; filter disc control means mounted for movement between one position when the filter disc is properly located and another position when the filter disc is improperly located, said filter disc control means having a portion thereof located in one of said cut-outs when said filter disc control means is in said other vpositionand said rod is in said stop position; and lens turret control means mounted for movement between one position when the turret is properly located and another position when the turret is improperly located, said turret control means having a portion thereof located in the other of said cut-outs when said turret control means in said other position and said rod is in said stop position, whereby movement of said rod into starting position is permitted only when the filter disc and lens turret of the camera are properly located, said elongated rod having an outer surface portion thereof engaging said portions of said filter .disc control means and lens turret control means when both of the latter are located in said one position and when said elongated rod is located in said starting position so as to thereby prevent movement of both of said control means into said other position while said rod is in said starting position.

8. In a cinematographic camera, in combination, a camera housing having a front wall formed with an exposure aperture passing therethrough; a filter disc turnably mounted on said front wall and adapted to have the filters thereof respectively located over said exposure aperture; a lens carrying turret turnably mounted on said front wall of said camera housing and adapted to have the lenses thereof respectively located over said exposure aperture; an elongated member ably mounted on the camera housing for starting the operation of the camera; and lock means operatively engaging said filter disc and lens turret to be operated thereby and operatively en aging said elongated member for locking the same, to thereby prevent operation of the camera, when one of the lenses on said turret is not located over said exposure aperture or when one of the filters on said filter disc is not located over said exposure aperture.

9. In a cinematographic camera, in combination, a camera housing having a front wall formed with an exposure aperture passing therethrough; a filter disc turnably mounted on said front wall and adapted to have the filters thereof respectively located over said exposure aperture; a lens carrying turret turnably mounted on said front wallof said camera housing and adapted to starting the operation of the camera; and means for preventing movement of said operating mem- 5 ber to start the operation of the camera when one of the lenses on said turret is not located over said exposure aperture and when one of the filters References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Howell Jan. 3, 1933 Billing Nov. 19, 1935 Levy et a1 Mar. 5, 1940 Banker May. '7, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Aug. 24, 1938 

